Adding dried fruit to primary or secondary ferment

[sekhmet906]

Hello!

I'm setting up a batch of rhubarb and a batch of blackberry wine this weekend, and I have a small amount of dried apricots and sweet cherries that I overdid in my dehydrator...they're still tasty but not suitable for snacking, etc...I've read in other places about adding dried fruit to increase body, etc, and I'd like to experiment with adding the apricots to the rhubarb and the cherries to the blackberries. My question is (besides of course, is this a really bad idea lol): what stage should I add these? My instinct is secondary, but I don't want to screw anything up - this is my first divergence from a set recipe. I'm not looking to do anything fancy here, just waste not want not, etc etc and I think they would add a nice touch.
These fruits were both treated before drying with a honey syrup (raw organic) with a tiny bit of lemon to prevent browning, so there is that additional sugar...so does that mean they should be added before I take the initial hydrometer reading??

 

[shmel]

I don't remember ever adding fruit to the secondary. I actually strain my fruits when switching from the primary to the secondary. IIRC leaving too much fruit from the primary in the secondary lead to a bitter (off) taste which is why I strain my fruits now.

On the other hand, since anything is possible in the world of wines, you can still experiment with adding them to the secondary and see how it turns out.

For the hydrometer reading, I would let the fruits sit overnight in my primary before pitching just because they are dehydrated and will both draw water and add sugar when fully hydrated.

Best of luck!

EDIT: After talking with a fellow brewer, it seems that while fruit residue from the primary can give a bitter touch, adding fruit to the secondary will impart a much stronger fruit flavor to beers and mead (so i'd guess wine too). However be warned that the sugar in those fruits can restart fermentation so watch out for foaming. Also make sure you use sulfites or pasteurise your fruit because you may introduce wild yeast to your mix and waste your batch. In your case I would hydrate and pasteurize my fruits before adding since you can do both at the same time.

Thank you for making me learn something new today.

 

[joeswine]

fruit for thought???

if there not good for snacking ,then don't use them in the wine, just my thoughts.

 

[shmel]

if there not good for snacking ,then don't use them in the wine, just my thoughts.

My interpretation is that they're too dry, which can be fixed by hydrating them. Of course, if the fruits are rancid, that's a big no-no.

 

[Floandgary]

This spring I did a bucket of Chilean Malbec. Rack to secondary at @1.008. After a couple of weeks with a heater on it (stayed a bit cool in basement this spring) stabilized and degassed @.993. Racked over and added 1#dried black currants. A month later rack off currants, sg back up to .997, degassed again. The currants really smoothed it and gave a good mouthfeel. Aging in carboy for another couple of months yet. I prefer to ferment my wines as dry as they will go and then play with flavorings,, oak, fruits, blends, sugars, etc. You can always experiment in 1 gallon increments

 

[sekhmet906]

Thanks, everyone for the advice! These are just overdried and tough...but since I need to rehydrate and pasteurize anyway, then sounds like it might be ok. I think we'll give adding them to the secondary a shot and see what happens! Fingers crossed!